Machine gun



[Patented Nov. 5, I940 monmr: GUN

Wolfgang Rossmanith, Solothurn, Switzerland,

assignor to Rhein'metall-Borsig Aktiengesellschait, Dusseldorf, Germany, a corporation of Germany Application February 18, 1938, Serial No. 191,303

' In Germany July 25., 1935 8 Claims. (01.89-37) I I The gun support I which carries the gun is r In order to improve the stability of machine guns during firing especially light machine guns which are adapted to be fired from the shoulder as well as from a mounting, such guns have recently been adapted to recoil on their mountings. For this purpose the guns were provided with 'gun supports which were connected with the mounting by a parallel motion mechanism so as to be able to swing to and fro. I The present invention combines with the above novel trigger actuating device which renders it possible to produce widely differing kinds of firing, that is single shots or continuous fire, and also makes it possible to produce, as desired, different speeds ofv firing during the latter metho of firing. v

In known arrangements in which repeater guns were carried on, their mountings by rearwardly swinging parallel motions, a control lever actuated during the backward and forward movement of the gun was arranged to effect the. opening and closing movement of the breech, and a firing finger controlled by the lever was arranged to initiate the firing of a shot at themoment when the breech became locked. In the arrangement provided by the invention, in contrast with the known constructions, the control member which determines the action of a finger operating on the trigger is a pivotally mounted link disposed between the gun support and afixed part of the gun mounting and in order to enable different kinds .of firing to be produced (single shots, continuous fire with normal or retarded fire speed) this pivotally mounted lever is arranged to be adjustably movable with respect to the links of the parallel motion. By making adjustable the position of the point, atwhich the control lever is articulated to the fixed part of the mounting, the firing finger, while the gun is still at test, can

be caused to eifect different movements of the trigger for initiating firing or the movements of the firing finger,.in consequence of the swinging of the gun during firing can be varied. The different modes of control of the firing finger, obtainable by such adjustment determine the kind of firing whichwill beefi'ected," Thus the in-, vention also renders it possible, merely by displacing a member on the gun mounting, to initiate any desired type and speed of fire within the range provided.

A typical embodiment of theinvention is ilv I with these arms 2.

an enlarged scale an example swingably articulated to the base 3 by means of the parallel motion comprising the pivotally mounted links} and its motion damped by one or more sets of recoil braking and running out springs. The spring arrangement may be constructed as shown in Fig. lwhere, approximately diagonally disposed between the pivots 4 and 5 of the parallel motion arms 2, there is connected a spring assembly 6 having a recoil braking and running-out spring 6' and an oppositely acting spring 6". v

A bell-crank lever 8 is arranged to pivot about a pin I fixed on the gun support I, one arm of the bell crank lever being connected with the firing finger 9 which operates on the gun trigger.

the other arm of the bell-crank lever 8 there is pivoted a link. H) which in its turn is connected with a pin II the position of which may be adjusted on. the fixed part of the base. This pin is adapted to be moved from a neutral position denoted by R into difierent positions denoted by E (corresponding to single-shot fire), S

(corresponding to rapid fire), L" and L1 (corresponding to retarded speed of fire).

The handle shown in Fig. 2 is in the form of a spring press-button. When pressure is applied to it the handle l2-l i, a foot l5, thereon is disengaged, against the action of the spring I3,

from notches M in the gun base and the handle can then be moved in a slot in the base into the position corresponding to the type of firing desired in any particular case.

The link In is equal in length to that of the f pivotal arms 2 of the parallel motion and, in the position R, E and S of the pin, lies parallel three positions are for this purpose-arranged on an arc of a radius which is determined in de,- pendence on the length of the arms of the bellcrank lever 8. Then when the gun swings back amounts. When the trigger is drawn back to a certain extent, single shots are produced and before each successive shot, the trigger must first be returned to its initial position. If, however,

the trigger is drawn back beyond. the 'single shot position, then the gun is adjusted for continuous fire.'

The link In is normally in the position a. The firing finger 9 then is drawn slightly forward The notches 14 for these a i ner by drawing back the trigger by different from the gun trigger. If single-shot fire is desired, the link In is moved from the position R. into the position E. Thus by means of the bellcrank lever 8, the firing finger 9 and therefore also the gun trigger, are drawn back as far as is necessary for single-shot fire. The shotis fired, and in order that the process may be repeated, the link 10 must first be let back to R. This is the normal operation in single-shot fire. If the link is set at S the gun trigger is moved back into the continuous-fire position. As this position of the trigger is maintained without alteration on account of the backward and forward movement of the gun, the gun now carries out continuous fire with a certain normal speed of fire.

When the link 10 has been adjusted into the positions L and Li, the link is no longer parallel with the pivotal arms 2 of the parallel motion and when the gun recoils, the arms 2 carry out different swinging movements from those of the link ID. The result of this is that each time the gun swings back after a shot is fired, the gun trigger moves quickly backwards from the firing finger 9, then moves forward in the trigger-guard of the gun into its normal position and interrupts the firing of the gun. Only during the forward swinging movement of the gun and its arrival in a certain forward position on the gun base, does the finger 9 again press the gun trigger back and the next shot is fired. Thus there is obtained a continuous fire, the speed of which is considerably less than the normal firing speed of the gun. It is immaterial whether this continuous fire is effected by means of a short movement of the trigger such as is capable merely of producing single-shot fire from the gun, or whether the path of movement of the trigger is greater and, apart from the action of the control device, would produce continuous fire.

The rate of fire depends on the angular positiongiven to the link in in relation to the rocker levers 2. This angular position determines the forward position of the-gun in which the gun trigger, which is released from the finger 9 at each individual shot, is again pressed back to the position which permits the next shot to be fired. The position L1 is selected as the extreme position in which the gun can be fired so that by delaying the detonation, a. second and each following shot of a series is not fired until the gun moves back by itself to its extreme front position. This produces the maximum recoil of the gun and consequently a considerably reduced rate of fire as compared with the setting L.

By the invention it is therefore possible to produce, as required, single-shots, rapid fire or continuous fire slowed down by different amounts. The link I0, may naturally also be provided with an actuating device other than that shown in the drawing: a rotatable handle would be suitable, which, when turned, guides the pivotal point of the link I0 on the base along the setting points R, E, S and L1. For rapid fire, it is also suflicient if the link I0 is approximately parallel to the arms 2, provided that, when the gun moves backwards, the gun trigger is not released by the finger 9, until the firing of the gun is to be interrupted.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A mounting for a machine gun which has a variable rateof fire, comprising a base, a firing finger, a gun support, a pair of parallel links pivotally connecting the support with the base, recoil braking and running out means supporting the parallel links and the gun support relative to the base and connected to opposite ends of the links, and means connected between the base and the gun support for automatically actuating the firing finger of the gun upon recoil of the support and being adjustable to vary the automatic fire of the gun.

2. A mounting for a machine gun which has a variable rate of fire, comprising a base, a firing finger, a gun support, a'pair of parallel links pivotally connecting the support with the base, recoil braking and running out means supporting the parallel links and the gun support relative to the base and connected to opposite ends of the links, and means connected between the base and the gun support for automatically actuating the firing finger of the gun upon recoil of the support, said adjustable means comprising a linkage connected between the base, the support and the firing finger and being adjustable on the base.

3. A device for adjusting the type and rate of firing of a recoiling machine gun' on a base, comprising a firing finger, a link mounted at one end on the base, a bell crank lever connecting the other end of the link with the gun and the firing finger, and a pin at the first mentioned end of the link for adjusting the link relative to the base to vary the automatic fire of the gun. 4

4. A device according to claim 3, in which a groove is provided in the base in which the link is adjustable at certain points by means of the pin corresponding to the various positions for the various types and rates of firing.

5. A device for adjusting the type and rate oi firing of a recoiling machine gun on a base comprising a firing finger, a link mounted at one end in the base, a bell crank lever rotatably mounted on the gun at a point approximately intermediate its ends and having the other end of the linkpivotally mounted on one end of the :lever and the firing finger pivotally mounted on -the other end of the lever, and means in the base at the first mentioned end of the link for adjusting the link relative to the base to vary the automatic fire of the gun.

-6. A device for adjusting the type and rate of firing of a recoiling machine gun on a base, comprising a firing finger, a link pivotally mounted at one end on the base, means for connecting the other end of the link with the-gun and the firing finger, and means on the link in cooperation with a groove in the base for adjusting the position of the link relative to the base to vary the type or rate of fire of the gun.

7. A mounting according to claim 2, in which the said three links are of equal len h;

8. A mounting for a machine gu which has a variable rate of fire, comprising a base, a firing finger, a pair of parallel links pivotally connecting the gun with the base, recoil braking and running out means urging the gun to its forward position relative to the base by means of the links and connected to opposite ends of the link, and means connected between the base and the gun for automatically actuating the firing finger of the gun upon recoil of the gun and being adjustable to vary the automatic fire of the gun.

WOLFGANG ROSSMANITH. 

